Here is a quick reminder about the amount of food a winter colony can burn through. Contrary to logic, your colony will eat more during a warm, balmy winter than it will during a colder one. On warm days, honey bees will leave the hive and fly around looking for food, but flying is extremely […] Read more
For me, Christmas is a time of reflection. Since beginning this website on December 25, 2009, I’ve spent the anniversary dates reviewing the past and eyeing the future. Looking back, I see nine years of explaining the technicalities of making sugar syrup. Who knew writing could be so much fun! This year’s retrospective began early […] Read more
Although they are not generally known as mason bees, the members of the genus Dianthidium certainly outshine Osmia bees when it comes to actually building something. Dianthidium bees collect pebbles, stones, and gravel, then cement them together to form a structure that can be pounded by the elements. The resulting nests are both impressive and […] Read more
When I was only knee-high to a goat, my grandfather took me for long rides each evening at dusk. He loaded me into in his Chevy just as the deer began to venture from the woods into the orchards for dinner. He loved to watch them, excitedly calling, “Look there! One, two, three…” I loved […] Read more
What do I do on a rainy winter day? I look at bee photos, of course. During bee season I take a zillion portraits, but I rarely have time to study them because there are always more pictures to take. But finally the time has come. Here are some favorite bees I recently found in […] Read more
Each time I think I’ve written my very last post on varroa, something else comes up. This time, it was a question about how to treat for mites now that we know mites eat fat bodies instead of hemolymph. Based on what I’ve read, I would say that if you are following current best practices […] Read more
Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees by Thor Hanson. Basic Books, New York. Copyright © 2018 by Thor Hanson. This review refers to the hardcover edition. If you have read other books by Thor Hanson, you know how user-friendly his prose can be. Buzz is no exception. The book is a clean, easy-to-read tale […] Read more